How did I spend my summer here in Brazil? January, the one month where nobody has school. Well, I stayed in Recife for the majority of the time. Fortunately, so did my closest friends. I went out a lot with Lauren and her host sister Carol, who went to Germany on the 29th. I introduced her to my friend Rafael and we both went to the airport to see her off.
So, I went to Boa Viagem a lot, almost everytime I went out. Occasionally I went out with my friends Paulo, Isabella and Erika who live nearby.
I went to the beach, I went to parties, I went to restaurants, I went to the gym and even to two concerts.
One weekend I went to a beach town, Tamandare and stayed with the family that I stayed with when I went to the interior town Pesqueira. My friend Rodrigo, his cousins and I went to the beach, skimboarded, and went to a huge show on Saturday night, of two of Brazil’s most famous bands, Chiclete com Banana and ExaltaSamba. There were thousands of people there, and I saw tons and tons of people I know from Recife.
I went to another show in Recife that was Pre-Carnaval. My friend Karina gave free tickets to me, my other exchange student friends and other friends of hers. I went with a costume of Frevo, which is a cultural type of music and dance only from Recife. There was a costume contest, and if they had let me on the stage I think I would have won.
One day and night I spent in another beach town with a Rotarian from my club Diogo and his family.
One night the exchange students from Recife went to a hotel to see a huge group of exchange students from the south who were visiting for the weekend on their northeast tour.
Near the end of the holiday, I went to my new school CONTATO with my host brother and sister, to get a tour and meet the director.
The last Saturday before the start of school there was a carnival bloco in my neighborhood, and I walked around the block with my family to see it. It consisted of a float with a Creole mascot, a band and a bunch of people with the bloco’s shirt. That evening, a brazilian from Annapolis, Danielle, who is a friend of my mother, called me to tell me that her cousin Joao Paulo was in Recife and there was another Bloco of Carnaval near where he was staying. She gave him my number through MSN and he called me. So I called my friend Isabella and she told us to come to her neighborhood. I met Joao there and then we met Isabella. The bloco had already finished, but tons and tons of people were still in the streets. I saw lots of friends from my old school and also Gavin and his host sister, so it was really fun. Then Joao and I ate in a McDonald’s and went home. I will try to see him when I go to Rio, and he might come to live with his Aunt in Annapolis.
The last day before school started on Feb. 1, I went to a funeral with my family, in the most expensive cemetery in the state. Then I went to a friend’s house and we swam, ate lunch and played soccer.
So, on the first day of school, I didn’t know anyone except my friend who is in the 3rd year, because she is friends with Karina. I met the other new kids in my class, and just talked with them. But now I have met the rest of the class and talked to more people. The teachers seem good. The only problem is that it is a small school. There are only two classes in my grade, and the classes are not full. In my old school, or the school I wanted to go to, there are 5-7 classes with like 45 people each. But my new school is very close and is a lot less expensive than my old school.
Let’s see how it goes with the classes and making new friends. Also, will I be able to maintain my relationships with my friends from my old school? I really don’t have that much time left in Brazil. I might have to come back in June. I will decide my official return date soon. And in March I will be traveling in the south for 3 weeks. There is still a lot more I want to do and I hope I will get to do it all!
